These images are from a project called In My Skin about young people under 25 in the UK who are challenging their body image.
I am looking at those who have had or are considering having cosmetic surgery in order to become more acceptable to themselves and achieve their ideal of being "beautiful."
Social consensus in Western society today is particularly focused on physical beauty and achieving and maintaining the "perfect" face and body.
Intertwined with this I am also documenting body dysmorphia as young people try to conform to this social expectation, resulting in eating disorders and body transformation.
Lastly, I am documenting transgenderism and the struggle young people have to live within a body they were born into but have no affiliation with.
— Michelle Sank
Shocking documentary portraits which tell the story of how Indonesia's lax regulations—combined with foreign tobacco companies' insatiable greed—has led to skyrocketing rates of child smokers.
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Now in its fourth year, the latest edition of this beautifully situated festival in Penang, Malaysia shines its spotlight on Asian photography, giving a much-needed platform of visibility to original and relatively unknown work.
These richly imaginative yet deeply melancholy portraits bring together old photographs and dead flowers to convey feelings of sadness, sentimentality—and eternity.
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